The Sweetest Lie
by Aeneid
Summary: Class 3-Z setting. Falling for the guy who probably didn't give a damn about her might be hard, but lying to him might be the hardest thing she's ever done, aside from making sure she could still keep up with the pretense. Rated T for Kagura's potty mouth, as always.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Gintama. It belongs to Hideaki Sorachi. I only own the plot, the ideas and the gag in this fanfiction.

* * *

**The Sweetest Lie**

* * *

_I wanna see you_

_Right now, I wanna see you_

_But I don't have the courage to send my love to you_

_There's no point in reach out my hand_

_I think I hate this world_

_-from Vocaloid Gumi's song 'Ambiguous Love' (Nankai Renai)_

* * *

Kagura knew that today sucked balls.

The foreign exchange student was being plagued this certain feeling once again, and it irritated her. The first time it had happened, she freaked out so much that she had bugged Ginpachi-sensei about it over and over again until he told her that she was going to die in a week. Panicking over the fact that her demise had been set, she had gone over the rituals for a peaceful passing until Shimura Otae, their class representative had asked why she was trying to contact a funeral service in-between periods. When the Chinese girl explained what Ginpachi-sensei said, the class representative wasted no time in hitting Kondo Isao over and over again with her recorder, as it was forbidden for students to assault their teachers. After the assault, she then calmly asked their homeroom teacher to not spread lies.

"But really, Kagura-chan, what's the matter with you lately? You've been spacing out." Otae asked during lunch time in the school's rooftop, a place normally forbidden for students to enter. Given the gossipy nature of their other classmates who would no doubt concern themselves over the fact that their tomboyish exchange student was acting _strange_, Otae had opted to have lunch in a place where it would give them privacy.

Just when the vermillion-haired girl was about to answer, the door had opened, and in came the disciplinary committee member, Okita Sougo, whose blood-red eyes had its usual deadpan look. He wore the standard summer uniform that consisted of the usual short-sleeved shirt that was opened in the front to show off his trademark 'S' shirt that stood for 'sadist'. "_Nee-san_, you know students aren't allowed here." He said, looking at the brown-haired ponytail girl. "Or did China force you to go here?"

"Okita-kun, we're having our girl talk. Please leave at once." Of course, it translated to, 'Get the hell out of here unless you want to get kicked in the balls this instant', and Shimura Otae wasn't in the mood to be diplomatic because of what had happened.

"Tch. Fine." He knew better than to say 'no' to the de facto lady boss of the Disciplinary Committee (she was, after all, the lady love of their president, which automatically made her their lady boss), and he did want his, err, family jewels intact. Bowing to the _nee-san_'s wishes, he went back to the door leading down to the third floors, and as soon as he made his exit, a huge sigh of relief came from Kagura.

"Okay, something is definitely up. You don't _sigh_." Otae had now narrowed her chocolate-brown eyes at Kagura, who was now slowly turning red. "Come on, Kagura-chan. It's just us here, the fence, the wind, and the lunch boxes."

Kagura took a deep breath, then blurted out her answer.

* * *

Kagura was thankful that _anego_ wasn't the noisy type, nor the type to tease her whenever any hint between her and the guy she liked would have any sort of interaction. On the contrary, _anego_ was silent, always giving her an encouraging look whenever the guy she liked would go over to her and talk. At least she had someone to talk to, unlike her guardian, who had told her that she was _dying_ because of the palpitations she had been experiencing lately whenever _that guy_ was around.

Right after lunch, before they were about to settle in, the disciplinary committee members had entered the room, announcing that they were going to have a surprise inspection for the uniforms. While the girls shrieked over their uniforms (especially the female delinquents in their class), Kagura knew it really wasn't a big deal. She'd get demerits for her stunt with the jacket and the jogging pants, but that was only because she forgot to wear her safety shorts! It wasn't that she was _deliberately_ trying to get the attention of the disciplinary committee or anything—

Ah shit, now she sounded like a _tsundere_.

"Oi, China girl, get in line." Came the voice of the vice president of the disciplinary committee, Hijikata Toushirou. "We don't have all day."

She rolled her eyes at him, jogging over to the line where most of her female classmates were. As there were no girl members of the disciplinary committee, it was their class representative who had to check for the girls. Kagura sighed in relief; at least no gorilla or stupid sadist would check her skirt length—

Or maybe not.

As soon as it was her turn, Kondo Isao, the president of the disciplinary committee had started hitting on her friend (the usual, "Please go out with me, Otae-san!"), prompting her to whack the said man with her handy recorder, which had magically appeared on her hand. With them busy, only Hijikata and sadist were the only ones available to check on her uniform.

And just her luck, she was the only girl left in line, and sadist was the one holding the tape measure.

'_FUCK IT ALL. WORLD, I HATE YOU.'_ She cursed in her mind, knowing that the sadist's tendency to humiliate her knew no bounds. Yet another day would go with them fighting over the smallest things, ranging from the best pencil brand to use in the classroom to the philosophical ones, like 'the meaning of life'. Frankly, she was tired of the arguments, only wanting to spend her days lately in complete silence so she could think about the new dilemma that was eating her figuratively.

Unfortunately, sadist wasn't a genius when it came to reading body language, nor listening to the hidden clues in her statements wherein she always yelled at him to leave her alone, and was fervent in annoying her more than ever. In fact, the usual 'must-annoy-China-once-a-day' became 'annoy-China-as-much-as-possible', and it pissed her off so much that she took great lengths to avoid him.

As if the world and the universe went in tandem to annoy the hell out of her, they presented her with a situation that was impossible to get out of.

'_Gundam-fucking-shit universe, thanks a lot.'_

"China, three demerits for your insistence on wearing those hideous jogging pants." The caramel-haired classmate of hers said, his voice as monotonous as ever. "And your skirt is too short, fix that right now."

Just for the sake of making her point across, she said, "Hey, there are perverts in this school! You want an innocent maiden such as myself accidentally flashing at them?!" he didn't have to know the exact reason _why_ she was wearing those today. "Besides, I wear these for a reason, and there's no way in hell I'm removing these!"

He shook his head, clearly unfazed by her reasoning. "Ten more points for arguing with the disciplinary committee member." Before she could scream at him, he continued. "As for that weak argument, one, why would they even try to look at you when you're as attractive as Psy [1], and two, you're a maiden? I get the impression you're not, 'cause you're more male than female."

Kagura was reaching her boiling point and was just about to punch him when he said his last piece. "If you want to get handed a minor offense for disobeying simple school rules, then keep on wearing those pants."

A tense atmosphere filled the room as Okita Sougo, resident sadist of Class 3-Z, had insulted their exchange student in front of their classmates. It was an unusual case, for the two always kept to themselves whenever they exchanged insults, but this time around, their verbal argument was in full view of their classmates. They usually had physical fights out in the open (or in this case, in the classroom, where everyone would always sworn to secrecy about this… unusual hobby of the two), but never a verbal one.

Everyone waited with abated breaths on what would happen next.

Would their exchange student break down in tears over the insult about her being compared to the famous rapper who was infecting nearly everyone in their school with that dance, or would she insult him back?

The next scene undid everyone in the classroom, even stopping both Otae and Kondo from their arguments.

Kagura, glaring at the sadist with her azure blue eyes, pulled down her jogging pants, removed them, and tossed it over at the sadist's head, the clothing landing on his head to cover his sight. Gasps and screams were heard from the females in the room as Kagura stood in front of everyone, flipping over her skirt so she could show off her bunny-printed white panties in full view. Behind Okita, Hijikata was nosebleeding at the sight of her flashing her panties, and was trying his best not to fall down the floor from the massive blood loss he was currently experiencing. Shimura Shinpachi, Otae's younger brother, was fortunate enough to forget his glasses that day, and was unable to know what the commotion was about, while Katsura Kotarou was too busy fretting over Elizabeth. Hedoro, their resident gentle giant, was too busy tending the flowers in the school garden, and was not present for the uniform inspection. Kondo Isao had been knocked out after Otae kicked him for daring to stare at her best friend.

Just as soon as Okita removed the discarded jogging pants over his head, the door opened.

"Oi, why are you all so— KAGURA, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" Sakata Ginpachi, who had just entered the room for their afternoon class, shrieked at the sight of his pupil and surrogate daughter flashing her underwear for everyone to see. "PUT DOWN YOUR SKIRT!"

When she did, it was evident that her skirt was still too short to cover her butt, for she placed both hands behind her back. At this, Gintoki sighed and scratched his head. "Souichirou-kun, give her back her pants." He did _not_ want to see his daughter in her underwear right now, and the image was forever burned in his retinas.

"It's Sougo." Was the automatic reply before he tossed the pants back to Kagura, who hastily wore her pants back.

"Kagura." Their teacher sighed once more, clearly feeling tired at the sudden plot twist that had happened in his life. "Bookstore, with me. Hurry up, I have a class to attend to." At the nod of the exchange student, the pair exited the classroom, amidst the tension and chaos that had just happened.

* * *

"What the hell were you thinking, doing that stunt?" Ginpachi asked while Kagura was behind the curtain, fitting the new skirt that they were going to purchase. "I told you not to cause so much trouble—"

"He told me to remove my pants. Who am I to disobey the disciplinary committee?" she shot back sarcastically. "And you were supposed to get me new skirts! I kept telling you I needed new ones 'cause this stupid growth spurt has been driving me crazy since three weeks ago!"

"Fine, fine, my bad." It was no secret in the school that Kagura was staying in Ginpachi-sensei's place as the other teachers of their school had no extra lodging for the exchange student. The school principal, Otose, had personally approved of this arrangement herself. "Get what you need, I'll tell the old hag to deduct it from my salary."

Kagura shoved the curtains aside, now wearing one of her newest skirts. "Yay! Thanks, Gin-chan!" she said, grinning at him.

"Yeah, yeah, now shush. Go back to class, will you? I'll go up in a bit."

"Okay!" and with that, she exited the store, eager to go back to her classroom located on the third floor of the building. As she ran up the stairs, she bumped into something solid, and was about to fall back when a pair of arms grabbed her around the waist. "Ack!"

"China girl, no running up the stairs." It was Hijikata who had caught her, his metallic-blue eyes boring into her own. "Imagine the mess we'd have to clean up if your body shattered into million pieces."

She rolled her eyes at his lame attempt to be morbid. "Yeah okay, whatever, Mayora. Let go of me, will you? This is really awkward." The girl was referring to the stares that the students were giving them, as they were still in their pose. Hijikata still had his arms wrapped firmly around her while her head was pulled back, as if they were posing for a prenuptial shot that she often found floating in the internet.

Behind Hijikata was Okita, as was usual, while Kondo was nowhere to be found. She suspected that he was still knocked out from the blows that the class representative delivered. Seeing Okita staring at her blankly made her feel conscious of herself right now, but she ignored it. As soon as Hijikata let her go and made sure she was steady on her feet did she bolt straight for the washroom and locked herself in one of the cubicle.

Suddenly, everything just sank in.

Did she just… flash her panties at Okita Sougo?

Well, she did but…

Well, it was his fault for pissing her off, but what the heck happened to her, becoming all bold and stuff?!

She could probably blame it all on the otome games she's been playing, especially the one wherein the guy was this public morals dude who totally told off the girl that her skirt was too short, and she had to fix it [2]. Instead of fixing it, like what the heroine did, she flashed her panties at him. He probably didn't see it because of the pants she tosses at him, but she knew that Hijikata Toushirou had nosebleed on the spot upon seeing her underwear.

She let out a groan of disappointment, both at her stunt and how Okita Sougo treated her.

Sometimes, she wondered if she was some kind of Do-M for falling for a Do-S like him.

Sometimes, she wondered if it was smart of her to allow herself to fall for a guy who didn't give a rat's ass about her. Kagura had time to back out of this whole 'falling in love' thing, and that was by completely ignoring him. Simply reaching out her hand to him and confessing was nearly impossible. Yet, stupid her didn't get deterred by that fact, and she let herself fall for it, hook, line, and sinker. Right now, she felt humiliated, miserable and slightly depressed at the fact that her actions earlier had probably caused a dent in her reputation, and how he viewed her.

Ah, she was probably ranked lower than Hijikata now.

She had no one to blame but herself for what she did.

"ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR RRRGH!"

* * *

Notes:

[1] Psy - Popular Korean rapper who rose to international fame because of the song Gangnam Style. I bet most of you saw the gifs on tumblr of either Takasugi with Kawakami or Hijikata with Kondou.

[2] Public Morals dude - from a certain otome game who is very [morally] upright and did tell the heroine of the game to fix her skirt because it was too short.

Oh hey, new fic. I hope you'll all enjoy this one. I got the inspiration from a friend who gave me the prompt 'the sweetest lie' (hence the title) plus Vocaloid Gumi's song called 'Nankai Renai'. The lines on the first part were my own translation of the song, so please don't go stealing it.

I hope you enjoyed the first part. Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

Another update. Not sure when I can update again since I'll be really busy until the end of September. For now, enjoy the chapter.

Translated lyrics in this chapter were made by me, as always.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gintama. It belongs to Hideaki Sorachi. I only own the plot, the ideas and the gag in this fanfiction.

Lastly, this chapter is dedicated to strwbrie. _Eto naaaaa~ sana magustuhan mo!_

* * *

The Sweetest Lie

* * *

_I wanna see you, I really wanna see you, _

_It's a lie, and it's not enough to convey this love_

_Even if I wish upon a star_

_Looks like it's not enough to solve this_

* * *

"You know, Okita-kun was at the _goukon_ [1] yesterday."

The statement that Shimura Otae had told her as soon as she got to class was enough to make her drop her bag, which fell to the ground, making her yelp. "Ouch!" she said, wincing as the heavy contents of the bag squished her feet.

"You okay? Sorry for surprising you with that news." The class representative bent down to get her heavy bag and placed it at the side of her desk. "But yeah, we were all surprised that he joined us…"

Who didn't get surprised over the fact that the sadist joined yesterday's _goukon_? She herself got invited by Hammy, but her interest in those activities declined after… that eventful occasion in her life. Sure, meeting boys from other schools had been fun, but no one had managed to catch her attention like he did.

After all, Kagura wasn't the typical female _shoujo manga_ heroine who, on her first day of school, would declare that her high school achievement before graduation was to: 1.) fall in love and 2.) get a boyfriend.

She had accidentally done number one (but was it really love, or just infatuation?), but she was never _ever_ counting on number two. It was just too much for her heart to take.

And besides, Gin-chan would immediately beat the crap out of the poor guy who would dare try to date his 'daughter'.

"S-so, uh… any… females from the other schools who, uh—"

"Who got interested in him? Of course; isn't that a given already?" inwardly, Otae slapped herself as soon as she saw the depressed look on her best friend's face, dreading the fact that her prospect would immediately fall for a pretty face, or even go out with her. "But, he said he wasn't interested in meeting girls 'cause he joined the _goukon_ for the sake of going to one."

Kagura gasped at this. "But before you react and moan over the fact that he's interested in the same sex, he did say he's… interested in someone. And obviously, it's a girl."

When the foreign exchange student's jaws dropped down, Otae nodded vigorously. "Yeah, the girls were surprised too… and after the karaoke, we tried bugging him about it but he wouldn't say anything."

Suddenly, she felt depressed. "I am so hopeless." She moaned, slamming her head against her wooden desk. Right now, she felt like crap: her head was a mess, her feet hurt, and many thoughts keep running in her head. Scenarios like _him_ getting a girlfriend was enough to incite panic inside her, and she wondered vaguely if she should confess—

"Hopeless? Who's hopeless?"

Speak of the devil…

Kagura had been assigned to the seat at the back of the classroom, and just her luck, for this term, it was Okita Sougo who was seated on her right. Looking at the newcomer at her right, she glared at him. "None of your business." She said immediately, as she didn't want to deal with him today. All she wanted to do right now was mope around over this new 'development' in her Foreveralone Saga.

Why was it difficult to find a solution to this dilemma?!

"Geez China, I was just trying to make small talk, yet here you are, shooting down my attempts. Knew I shouldn't treat a tomboy like a girl." At this, Otae gave her an exasperated look, which she ignored. Instead, she stared at her aching feet, wondering if she should have it check by the nurse. In the end, she decided to bear the pain and think more about her situation.

As for Otae's earlier gesture…

Really, that was hypocritical of her best friend to give her that disapproving look, especially since class representative _actually_ liked the gorilla president of the disciplinary committee, and was just being… violent over her affections for him.

Did Shimura Otae wanted her to be honest with her feelings, for once?

No way in hell!

Not only was it totally out of character, but her pride wouldn't allow it. It was the only thing she could cling on to, with all this plot twist and confusion that plagued her. She was willing to keep up with the pretense that she hated him as long as he doesn't figure it out. It might not do wonders with her conscience (it sounded something like cognitive-dissonance, from what she had read on the internet), or even her emotional well-being (she was dealing with a sadist, after all) but at least the charade was still up, and she was safe.

"Just leave me alone." She said, glaring at him.

He shrugged, then put on his headphones to block off any attempts to communicate with other people.

The class representative shook her head at the scene that unfolded in front of her.

If push came to shove, she would have to force both of them to play by her hand.

* * *

_This one-sided red string of fate_

_I'll tie this to you today_

_I had to remind myself that it can't be helped if it doesn't happen_

_I knew it, it's impossible, I can't lie_

_My thoughts and feelings are filled with you_

* * *

Today sucked balls again, Kagura told herself.

As she stuffed herself with the lunch she made at an ungodly hour of five in the morning, her mind drifted from the lesson that was currently being taught by Tsukuyo-sensei, whom she suspected was the person Gin-chan called 'annoying'. Tsukuyo, the history teacher, was a tall, blonde lady who spoke like the courtesans of the ancient times, if her classmates were to be believed. She found her accent and way of speaking rather awesome, for she had never encountered a Japanese who spoke that way until Tsukuyo-sensei introduced herself to the class.

Instead of listening to her lecture about the Sengoku Period, her mind drifted to her seat mate on the right, who was busy chewing gum.

When did it all begin anyway?

Until now, she couldn't understand how she had managed to fall for someone whom she didn't get along with. From their first meeting until now, she and him always got into petty disagreements. If they did not have arguments, they would always be in the opposite sides of every debate in class, which always ended up becoming too violent because either one of them would lose their temper and would prefer getting physical to settle it. Many tables and chairs had been sacrificed because of their antics, and as usual, the whole class has covered it up for them.

She'd give him points for looking handsome, but that was it. That stupid _haraguro_ [2] could fool everyone outside their class, but not her or their classmates. His sadistic tendencies were well-known , and even he, Okita Sougo didn't deny it. Heck, even Ginpachi-sensei blatantly called him _sado gaki_, 'sadistic brat'.

She gave out a long sigh after swallowing her octopus wieners.

Why were her thoughts filled with him every waking moment?!

Shit, this was worse than her sudden obsession towards a foreign visual-kei artist who was prettier than a girl [3].

"Kagura, can you answer my question?"

She stood up immediately from her seat, placing her book down the lunch box to cover up what she had just been doing. "Yes, Tsukuyo-sensei?"

"Who won between Tokugawa Ieyasu and Ishida Mitsunari in the Battle of Sekigahara?"

"Tokugawa Ieyasu, of course." She said immediately, prompting the whole class to stare at her in awe. "What?"

"W-well… you got it right." Catherine, the resident _nekomimi_-wearing student of their class spoke up.

She rolled her azure-colored irises heavenward. Just because she was a foreigner didn't mean she was clueless about Japanese history. And besides, that beat-'em-up game she and Gin-chan had been playing until the wee hours of the morning helped her so much with remembering their names and their significance in history. "Of course I know all about it!" she said. "Though if I had my way, I think it should've been Mitsunari who won, 'cause he was waaaaaay hotter than Ieyasu!"

"China, stop distorting history just because you want to." Came the bored voice of Okita Sougo. "Or, in your twisted case, only because Ishida Mitsunari caters to your disgusting fantasies."

"Hey, he really is good-looking! Way better than Ieyasu!" she shot back.

"Stop distorting your reality with videogames that turn fat old men into pop idols."

"Why do _you_ care?!"

" 'Cause I don't want you ruining Japanese history for me by spouting nonsensical opinions about how they look like in pop culture or even speculations on 'what could have been'."

Tension filled the air as yet another argument exploded between the two for two days in a row. Many of the members of Class 3Z wondered what provoked Okita to be bitchy lately, and at the same time feeling sorry for the foreign exchange student, who had gotten humiliated in front of everyone again. What made it worse was that the disciplinary committee member just had to do it in front of their teacher.

Tsukuyo sighed, wishing she had a cigarette right now on her fingers.

Those two again… and to her surprise, the normally loud exchange student looked like she was about to cry.

"Okita Sougo and Kagura, stand outside for the whole duration of this class. You need to cool off."

Kagura bolted as soon as she got the chance to do so, and as soon as Okita got out of the classroom to stand in the hallway, she was nowhere to be found.

* * *

She had managed to find a broom closet to hide into so she could let out the tears that suddenly made its way down her eyes.

His comments usually irritated her, but this time around, for the second time, he had embarrassed and humiliated her in front of everyone and Tsukuyo-sensei. Their 'private war', it seemed, was out in the open, and if this went on, she wanted out already. On the bright side, at least she finally confirmed that she didn't get turned on by the public humiliation. That, at least, ruled out the possibility of her turning into a Do-M like her classmate, Sarutobi Ayame, who was totally hot for Sakata Ginpachi-sensei.

Everything was becoming confusing, and even she did not know what to do anymore.

She wanted to be nice to him, but knowing him, he'd take advantage of her kindness.

If she kept up the charade, she would be safe… for now. In the long run, it would be difficult to even attempt a confession.

Why the hell was she acting all _tsundere_ at him anyway?!

Kagura sighed, then kicked the side of the broom closet in anger.

Back to square one for her.

* * *

Notes:

1.) goukon - joint party between or among students from various schools for the sole purpose to meet new friends or, in some cases, get a boyfriend/girlfriend.

2.) haraguro - A person who is very much a people-person towards others, but is hiding his/her true self behind the smile. The real person behind the mask is actually mean, cruel, and clever.

Funny thing to note is that Gintoki actually called Okita a _haraguro_ last Jump Festa Special 2005.

3.) foreign visual-kei artist who was prettier than a girl - pertains to YOHIO, a Swedish singer who made it big in Japan.


	3. Chapter 3

This chapter is dedicated to my little sister on Tumblr, whom I shall call "Soyo-hime". Here you go, little sis! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Gintama does not belong to me. It belongs to Sorachi Hideaki.

Nankai Renai lines translated by me, as always.

* * *

The Sweetest Lie

* * *

_I willingly fell in love with you, it's all my fault,_

_Don't worry, I'm not asking for anything in return_

_That's because your looks, your gestures, the sound of your voice, are all enough for me_

_The me who fell in love that much_

_is feeling so much pain in her chest_

_I'm aiming way too high, because I want you all to myself_

* * *

"Hey Kagura, you free this weekend?"

It was a cool Friday morning, and as soon as Kagura settled down in her seat, the class representative of class 3Z had approached her immediately and had asked the question. The foreigner's forehead wrinkled a bit before shaking her head. "Yeah, I think so, unless Gin-chan wants me to help out with household chores." She said, yawning a bit. "What's up? Another _goukon_?"

Otae immediately shook her head. "Nope. I was thinking of a girls' day out. Arcade, karaoke, and probably some shopping. What do you think?"

At this, her eyes sparkled immediately.

Never in her wildest dreams would she get invited to a girls' day out. _Goukon_ was a school girl standard, but a girls' day out was another thing altogether; it involved shopping, karaoke, and just girls being, well, girls. Because of her tomboyish nature, her female classmates thought that she was more interested in hanging out with the boys than go to beauty salons and have their nails done. Despite the actions that she usually showed, Kagura really was a girly-girl.

Who the hell wore hair ornament these days anyway? Wasn't that enough to at least show them that she was girly enough to join them in their shopping escapades?

But then again, that was their loss.

"Ohhh! I can't wait for that!" immediately, Kagura began spinning in her place, skirt be damned. She was wearing shorts now, ever since Gin-chan told her that she was disturbing other people by unintentionally flashing her panties. "Oh, oh, oh, let's go to Harajuku, then to Shinjuku! Oh, Ikebukuro too, since I need to get games for Gin-chan and myself." Suddenly, the exchange student felt more alive and energetic than ever before. "And, and, and, I get to wear my really cute outfit!"

"How cute is cute?" Otae asked.

"Oh, you'll see, _anego_!" was all the foreign exchange student said before their homeroom teacher came in, a cigarette-looking item in-between his lips. "Ah, _sensei_, _sensei_!" immediately, Kagura ran to the teacher's table, eyes gleaming.

"What?" Sakata Ginpachi asked, finding it unusual and really weird that his surrogate daughter was more hyper and happy than usual on a Friday morning. "I assume you haven't done anything illegal?"

"Nope!" she said, grinning widely, which immediately alarmed him.

"Okay, Kagura, spill it. What the hell did you do today?! You're grinning like a murderer who is now face to face with his final victim!"

She stood on her toes so she could whisper it to her guardian's ear. "Can I go out tomorrow with _anego_?"

Ginpachi never really understood why his ward would refer to the female Shimura as 'anego', but said nothing on that matter. "No boys?" he asked, his eyes narrowing at the thought of his 'daughter' interacting with males outside of school.

"Yep." _Unless stalker gorilla comes in and ruins everything_. At Gin-chan's glare, she nodded her head. "What? It's true!" _At least, not that I know of. And besides, _anego_ wouldn't let any guys join us tomorrow. Shinpachi won't allow it either._

"Well fine. Just be home by 9 in the evening." At this, she jumped up and hugged her language teacher.

"Yay! Thank you, Gin-chan!" she squealed.

"Geez, stop hugging me!" he said, prying her hands off his neck. "And get back to your seat."

Immediately, she released him from her hug and skipped back all the way to her seat, grinning madly at the fact that her unusually strict guardian had allowed her to go out tomorrow. And with a nine in the evening curfew to boot! As soon as she sat down, she gave a thumbs-up to the class representative, who smiled at the gesture.

Tomorrow would be the best day ever.

* * *

… Or maybe not.

As soon as Kagura made her way to the meeting place, which was train station in Harajuku, she was dumbfounded at the sight of her _anego_ surrounded by three additional males.

She blinked at the sight of the gorilla.

She narrowed her eyes at the sight of the mayonnaise freak.

Lastly, she tried hard to fight down the blush that was making its way to her face when she saw _him_ with the usual bored expression that he wore.

Immediately, she took out her mobile phone and dialed Shimura Otae's number.

"Yes?"

"_Anego_, I thought this was a girls' day out! What the hell are they doing there, hanging out with you?!" there was panic in her tone, and the female Shimura simply sighed.

"It was unfortunate that the stalker found me… and before I knew it, the other two suddenly surrounded me. Where are you right now anyway?"

"Just… behind you. I'm leaning against the pillar." She mumbled.

"What?" Otae asked, as she was unable to hear what the foreign student had just said.

"Nothing. I'll be there soon." She hung up and tried to take deep breaths.

Was the universe playing a prank on her again…!?

Not only was this annoying, but it tested her limits as a maiden in love. As much as she didn't want anything to do with that guy, she found herself longing for him. It drove her crazy to the point that she was losing sleep over him, and when she _did _fall asleep, she dreamt of him. It freaked out her housemate so much that he told her to settle her 'girly dreams' and face it head-on like the aggressive, wild girl that she was.

Face it head-on, she would.

In her cute dress and fashionable heels, even!

… Or maybe not.

She could feel her courage leaving her faster than Gin-chan gulping down a whole carton of his favorite strawberry milk, so before she could even stop herself, she immediately made a run for it.

"_Anego!_"

* * *

Shimura Otae was in the midst of beating up that stalker gorilla that went by the name of Kondo Isao while the two other members of the disciplinary committee looked on when someone had called out to her. She looked up, and immediately, the sight of Kagura had made her eyebrows rise up in surprise.

The tomboyish foreign student who had been reprimanded several times for wearing sweatpants underneath the school skirt was currently clad in a red tartan skirt that reached the quarter of her thigh. Her upper garments consisted of a cream-colored wool sweater and a white tank top that reached a third of the length of her skirt. The white handbag that she had slung over her right arm was a pink and purple checkered designer brand that Otae knew so well; it was from a store that catered to girls who loved wearing sweet Lolita dresses. On her feet were a pair of dark red heels that had two straps wrapped around her ankle and the lower part of her legs. Her vermillion hair wasn't styled with the usual hair buns, but was tied up in a bun over her head while the locks that were too short to be tied up were curled instead to frame her face.

All four of them stood silently and stared at the foreign exchange student before Otae squealed and made a move to hug the girl. "You're so cute!" she cooed, hugging Kagura as tight as she could.

"A-ack, _anego_, can't breathe…" she said weakly, tapping the female Shimura on the shoulder, signaling her to loosen the hold.

"I can't help it; you're so damn adorable! You managed to convince Gin-san to buy you these?!" Otae knew the latest trends, as well as expensive brands that she could only hope to buy.

"Ah, well… kinda." She mumbled.

"It really suits you. You're so cute!" she gave a final hug before turning to the three men who had tagged along. "Right?"

"It's just as Otae-san said. China-san looks cute!" Kondo Isao said, and Kagura knew that he was very much sincere. He was never the type to lie, though he had rather… scary stalking abilities. Nevertheless, the comment had made her red in the face, which she tried to hide by continuously patting her cheeks.

"Not gonna answer that." Came the reply of Hijikata, and Kagura rolled her eyes in reply. He knew that Mayora probably never really cared about girls in their class, except only when she did that skirt stunt. She knew that his nose bled, but it was only because he got scarred at the sight of her in that state. "But whatever floats your boat, China."

"Gee, thanks a lot, Mayora." She responded back sarcastically.

"Yeah, I think China girl looks pretty."

All four of them, including a now tomato-red Kagura, looked at the resident sadist of their class, surprised at his comment. He never was the type to compliment, nor was he nice towards Kagura. In fact, right after their argument over the whole _Sengoku Jidai_ warlords, he was back to taunting her as if nothing had happened. For him to say that she was pretty was something surprising.

As much as she didn't like to get her hopes up, her heart began beating madly against her chest, hope soaring within her.

Was this it…?

"Yeah, she's really pretty. _Pretty ugly_."

Something snapped inside her, and before she knew what was happening, she grabbed him by his face and threw him on the sidewalk as hard as she could and walked away, heading towards the direction of the arcade she and Otae frequented in. "Let's go, _anego_." She said, never looking back to see what the result of her actions had done.

* * *

The game center was one of Kagura's most favorite places in the neighborhood. The games were cheap, up to date, and wasn't usually crowded. The ones in Akihabara were for the pros, and she really wasn't the type to be really competitive, for the games she played were for fun, and to relieve stress. She and Otae went here whenever they had money to spare after school, which was done once a week. This time around, after two week of no arcade, she was pretty much ready to spend all of her 100 yen, which she estimated to be worth at least two thousand.

"Oh cool, no one's using the Dancing Songstress [1] machine!" she said, opening her handbag to get a hundred yen.

Otae frowned. "Wasn't that the machine that you nearly broke 'cause you couldn't get past the first stage?" she commented.

"W-well… yeah." At this, she scratched her head. "But I've been practicing a lot at home—" she said before she got interrupted.

"Wait, how can you practice at home?"

"Uh, videos on the internet? People love to post the gameplay there, so I just play it over and over again and follow the dance steps." She didn't mention that Gin-chan was so sick and tired of hearing the same old song playing in their house that he told her to 'go play that damn music elsewhere, just not in this house!'. Taking advantage of the situation, she then proceeded to play the song on a loop one night, and when he told her that he would break her music play, Kagura told him that she would only play the song outside the house _if_ he gave her money for the girls' day out. He obliged by giving her a stack of coins, but not before making her sign a waiver that she would keep her end of the bargain. "Okay, I'll play for the meantime!" she announced, dropping a coin in the slot.

What made the Dancing Songstress arcade game unique was that it not only required you to dance, but to sing the song correctly and be not off-tune. Most players found it difficult to play, for after a while, they were already gasping for air because they were not used to the song and dance features.

Kagura wasn't the best singer around, but she knew that she could dance without embarrassing herself. She had practice, and she could execute the steps _perfectly_.

Besides, if she failed at singing, she could at least laugh over it with _anego_.

She inserted her 100 yen, pressed the buttons, and chose her song. A catchy song began to play, and Otae raised an eyebrow as soon as she heard the lyrics. "Wasn't that the song that got stuck in your head recently?"

"Yup. Found out that it's available for this game, so I kept practicing and practicing at home so I won't look stupid when I pay in public." She said before stepping up the platform, preparing herself to start the game.

_'Well, no wonder Ginpachi-sensei_ _hated it.' _Otae thought as the music began to play, and Kagura's head was down, singing it softly.

The song practically screamed ear worm when it began blasting loudly, combined with Kagura's singing and dancing. While her singing wasn't really that good, her dancing skills made up for it.

"Oh, China-san sure is graceful when she dances!" Kondo Isao said as he walked towards Otae's side.

"Of course she is!" Otae defended. "Underneath her roughness is a cute teenage girl."

"I would've immediately believed you, _nee-san_, but this is China we're talking about." Okita said in a bored tone as he came up behind the president of the disciplinary committee. "There's nothing in her that says 'cute teenage girl', and all I can read in her is 'female gorilla'."

"Well, Okita-kun, if you don't shut your mouth right now about Kagura-chan, I'll shut it for you." At this, the female Shimura cracked her knuckles, all the while smiling.

"… Fine."

Now she understood why Kagura felt so much frustration towards this crush of hers. No matter how handsome he may be, he had a huge attitude problem that was certainly a force to reckon with. No amount of sarcasm was enough to make him shut up, and despite Kagura's recklessness and tactlessness, she still gets hurt, like when Okita had made her cry with his comment. Otae remembered comforting the exchange student as she cried her heart out for a good hour before she went home to the house she shared with her homeroom teacher, her face and eyes totally red.

Okita Sougo was bad for anyone's sanity, especially for someone as sensitive as Kagura.

Ah, hell, if that was what it took, she would gladly talk to the exchange student over and over again to discourage her from pursuing him. He really was a no good trash whose only redeeming feature was his handsome face [2].

Otae nearly smiled to both the lyrics of the song and how Kagura did that part of the song, which involved her swinging her arms madly, pointing them skyward and her crouching down a bit, acting all cute.

_At least_ she admitted that she was… not honest with her feelings for the class 3Z's resident sadist.

A minute later, Kagura was done with the first song, and had sighed when it was done. She had gotten an A for her efforts, but it wasn't the perfect grade, which was S.

"Huh. I still need to work on my singing." The vermillion-haired girl tsked, pressing the buttons once more to choose a song. Yet another familiar tune began playing, and at this, she squealed. "Oh gosh, that song is here!"

"Errr... can you dance in heels?" Otae asked, gesturing at the footwear she was wearing.

"Of course!" and just as soon as she said that, she began to dance once more to a Eurobeat song this time around.

"... Never knew China could move like that." Hijikata remarked as he watched Kagura bounce up and down before singing the first few lines of the song. "Hard to imagine that someone like her can dance."

A few minutes later, she hopped down the machine, grinning herself silly. "Okay, done. Where else do you guys wanna go next?"

"Geez China, you made us wait." Okita said, rolling his eyes. "Nice going."

Immediately, she took offense to his remark. "Fuck off. You three just had to ruin our girls' day out, so deal with it." she replied hotly, sticking out her right middle finger to make her point. "If you were so bored, you should've gone somewhere else and left us alone, you stupid jerk."

"Now, now, you two, don't fight—" as Kondo tried to play the peacemaker, Sougo ignored him and immediately grabbed Kagura's face, using his four fingers to press her right cheek inwardly while the thumb was used on the left. Right now, she looked awkward, as she suddenly sported goldfish-like lips.

"Tch. For a girl, you sure have a foul mouth."

"For a boy, you sure can't treat a girl properly." she shot back.

"You're a girl? Ah, my bad, you don't act like one—"

She used the heel of her boots to step on his toes, though she was not satisfied with what she did, even if he was howling in pain and cursing her. "Jerk." she spat angrily. She then faced, Otae, then said, "Can I just go...? I'm really sorry..."

"B-but we haven't done karaoke yet—"

"I'm sorry. I just... can't. I'm..." she sighed, shaking her head. "Sorry, _anego_, I'm not in the mood anymore." before the brown-haired girl could even say anything, Kagura walked out of the gaming arcade.

* * *

_What the hell was his problem anyway?!_

As much as she wanted to pick a fight with him right then and there, it wasn't worth it. The pretty outfit she wore for today didn't deserve to get dirtied or ripped just because the resident jerk (and, to her annoyance, her crush) had managed to provoke her.

Still, if only he could be nice—

_'Geez Kagura, you're asking for the impossible. It's like you asking Gin-chan to give you a monthly allowance of ten thousand yen when he can't even give you a hundred unless you force him to.'_

She _did_ give out the excuse that she wanted to leave, but it didn't mean that she wanted to go home. On the contrary, she wanted to roam around for the meantime…

… Or maybe go to _that place_.

That person _did_ say to go over there whenever she needed to talk to someone, and right now, Kagura was sorely tempted to contact that person so they could meet up.

_'Ah, hell. I need someone to talk to right now.'_ Immediately, she grabbed her phone and called up that person. Before she knew it, she found herself heading over to a small tea shop hidden in Harajuku. She had been here before when she had bought the clothes she was wearing right now, and the person who had sold the clothes to her for a discounted price had brought her here to have tea.

"Ah, you're here. It's been a while since I last saw you, Kagura-chan."

She bowed her head at the person who was sitting on the couch, smiling at her. "It's been a while, Mitsuba-san." She said. "Thank you so much for being here."

* * *

Notes:

[1] Dancing Songstress - Obvious pun to the game 'Project Diva', a rather popular game on the arcade, then it was ported to the PSP, 3DS, and now, the Vita.

[2] He really was a no good trash whose only redeeming feature was his handsome face - a paraphrase on a certain recent manga chapter. If you've read it recently, you know who said this~


	4. Chapter 4

As always, the translation to the lyrics was done by me.

Disclaimer: I don't own Gintama. It belongs to Sorachi Hideaki.

* * *

**The Sweetest Lie**

* * *

_Chapter 4_

* * *

_I may have misunderstood, because I haven't felt that way before_

_Things may change all of a sudden_

_Looks like I don't hate this world anymore_

_Ever since that day, I couldn't stop caring about you_

_The more I like you, the more I can't give up on this love_

* * *

"I'm torn between kicking you and punching you in the face right now."

The blunt admission that came from the Disciplinary Committee President's 'girlfriend' wasn't enough to scare Okita Sougo, who gave her his usual poker-faced expression. Until now, he found no fault in what he did, despite what _nee-san _said, as it was obvious that it was China who left the group out of her own volition. "Why do you keep insisting it's my fault when she was the one who left?"

The smile on her face never faltered. "Oh? So the genius can't seem to grasp how he had badly dealt with the situation, and can't even ponder on the reason why my best friend walked out on our girls' day out?" she clutched her right hand tightly, trying her best to control herself, though it lasted only for several seconds before she aimed her punch at the unsuspecting male gorilla, who howled in pain from her blow.

"I'll tell you what: no one leaves nor goes home until we find her." Before Sougo could even protest, she gave him her death glare, something he wasn't immune to. If looks could kill, he was probably a rotting corpse by now. "And _you_, Okita_-kun_," she addressed him in a sugary-sweet tone that sent chills up his spine. "You'd _better_ say 'sorry' to her."

"Why should I? I didn't do anything—" before he could continue with his statement, Shimura Otae had grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and opened both her chocolate brown eyes, revealing the depth of her emotions.

"Didn't you hear what I just said? I told you to say 'sorry' to her after we find her."

"… Fine." Though he was half-hearted with his agreement, at least he knew he had spared himself from torture for the meantime.

Besides, he'd rather kick himself than apologize to that stupid girl.

* * *

Kagura felt just a bit better after sipping her peppermint tea, but that didn't mean she was over it. True, she probably gave all of them a bad impression with her walkout, but it was just too much. Why did he have to be an asshole all the time? Was there _even _a time where he _acted_ normal towards her?

_If he did, then I would've remembered it._

As far as everything was concerned about him, the moment she joined Class 3-Z, he had always been so mean to her. Everything she did, from her glasses to the way she wore her uniform, he had something nasty to comment on. As much as she wanted to just ignore him, she couldn't; not only was he her seatmate, but most of the time, they were always assigned to do after-school cleaning duties. Some deity was probably playing with her, for they were _always_ paired together.

Hell, their names were always written beside each other!

She could remember the words clearly on the blackboard:

'After-School Cleaning Duty:

Okita | Kagura'

"Kagura-chan?"

She looked up to see Mitsuba giving her a worried look. "Are you… okay?"

"Y-Yes. I'm… feeling better." She _was_ okay, and at least it wasn't a lie.

"I still can't believe Masato-kun did that." The sandy-haired woman shook her head. "That was really mean of him."

She nodded in agreement. "Well… he's really a jerk."

"But you like him, right?" at Mitsuba's question, her hand that was reaching out for the tea cup suddenly halted, and she pondered once more on the easy question that suddenly became difficult to answer.

She _did_ like him… but right now, the foreign girl was having second-thoughts. 'Masato-kun', her code name for him ever since she recently played an _otome_ game wherein one of the guys there sounded _exactly_ like him [1], was getting pretty difficult to like, with the way he acted. "I'm… not too sure about that. M-maybe…? Or maybe… not." She let out a big sigh, slightly wanting to kick herself for getting so worked up over it.

Mitsuba patted her arm. "Try to think it through, Kagura-chan." She said. "I'd want to set you up with my brother, but I think he won't be interested. I think there's a girl he likes."

She knew Mitsuba had a younger sibling, but she had never mentioned him until now. "You have a brother?"

"Oh, did I forget to mention it?" she smiled apologetically. "Yes, I do have a brother. He's around your age too."

Kagura nodded. "I see. Well, your brother isn't _him_ so…" she then shrugged. "I'm sorry, my head's a mess right now."

The older woman shook her head. "No, no, don't apologize; I understand what you're going through. I… kinda went like that too, some years ago. I'll tell you what; let's go to the store, okay?"

"B-but—"

"It's fine! The manager likes you, and you're gonna model my newest clothes for me!" Mitsuba slapped a five thousand yen on the table and grabbed Kagura's hand, leading her to the clothing store she worked for, which was ten minutes away from the café they were at.

It was a strange meeting, now that she thought about it. When Kagura first met Mitsuba, she had been on a personal mission to shop for cute clothing, as she had enough of everyone calling her a 'tomboy'. Even though she really didn't give a damn about the label, it had gotten worse when Okita Sougo had joined in, even going as far as to say that she was a female gorilla. It had struck a nerve, and on that very weekend, she had gone in search of cute clothing, with Gin-chan's money in her purse.

As soon as she had gotten inside the boutique of the clothing store called 'Babe, The Stars Twinkle Beautifully' [2], the vermillion-haired girl knew that it was a fateful encounter. Mitsuba, one of the lead fashion designers of the store, had taken an interest in her, and, after hearing her dilemma about her wanting to be girly, was kind enough to give the clothing to her for free. Normally, dresses from their store cost at least thirty-thousand yen, but the older woman told her she could have it, as long as she would always wear it and would always drop by at the store.

Kagura could never thank her enough, knowing that Mitsuba was working very hard to provide for herself, her brother, and for her medication. She had heard from Mitsuba's co-workers that she had tuberculosis, and the treatment that she needed was quite expensive. Her brother, Kagura was told, had tried to start working part-time, but Mitsuba had prevented him from doing so, and had forced him to continue with school. The older woman had stopped going to the private all-girls' school that was known as an elite school, and had gone through so much before the manager, Tokumori Saigou, known as 'Mademoiselle Saigou', decided to hire her as an assistant fashion designer. Now that she was a well-known fashion designer among the _gyaru_ enthusiasts, she was earning so much that she was well on her way to recovery.

Kagura found herself at the boutique several minutes later, and Mitsuba, still dragging her by the hand, had entered the store and exclaimed, stopping by the entrance in the process. "Oh, Sou-chan, you're here!"

"… Yeah. I wanted to see how you were doing, _aneue._" At the familiar tone of his voice, Kagura nearly stumbled backwards in shock.

_Aneue?!_

Could shit get any worse than this…?!

How could a sadist guy like him have a gentle woman as his sister?!

_Oh god, the ground should just swallow me whole right now… please?!_

She was thankful that he hasn't seen her yet, as she was still out of the door, and was effectively hidden from the couch.

"Well, I just went out for a break. Remember the girl I was telling you about who is modeling clothes for me?" she asked.

"Yeah. The one you kept saying is 'cute' and 'adorable'."

_Oh god no._

"Well, she's with me, Sou-chan. I'd like you to meet her!"

_DEAR GOD NO._

"Okay."

A tug on the hand, and Kagura knew she had to face the music. It _was_ only Okita Sougo, after all, and the best she could do was to be cordial. She wasn't required to like him, and as long as she could keep up with the façade that she was 'okay' with him, she could always play that role in front of everyone and just loathe him in secret. A second tug, and she decided to step inside the store, her eyes staring straight ahead. She stopped just in front of Mitsuba and turned to the person who was sitting at the couch who, for a split second, was in shock, but recovered almost immediately and adopted his trademark poker-faced expression.

"… Oh. So she's the one." He said. "The clothes you made _are_ pretty, _aneue_, but I can't say the same for her."

The thinly-veiled insult didn't get unnoticed by her, and she ignored it, deciding to simply keep quiet and let Mitsuba handle it. As expected, the older woman tsked. "Now, now, Sou-chan, don't be mean. Kagura-chan is very cute and you know it!" she said.

He shrugged in response. "Anyway, I'm off. I just wanted to see you." He said. "Will you be working late again?"

"I might, 'cause I'm gonna stay here for a while. Kagura-chan will be fitting my clothes, and it might take some time." She said.

"Ah. In that case, I'll see you at home, _aneue_." He bowed at his sister after he stood up from the couch and walked past Kagura, but not before glaring at her. As soon as he exited the store, Mitsuba sighed.

"I'm so sorry if he came across as rude, Kagura-chan."

She shook her head. "It's fine, Mitsuba-san. I'm used to it."

" 'Used to it'… wait, you know Sou-chan?" Mitsuba's brown-red eyes looked very surprised. At her nod, the older woman's mouth fell open. "O-oh my… may I ask how…?"

"We're… classmates."

* * *

Okita Mitsuba suddenly felt bad at the fact that her younger brother had been mean towards her friend. Kagura may not have been vocal about it, but it was evident that he was probably treating her badly. The way she looked at him, and how she had already been resigned to his attitude gave her an idea that he had been such a bully.

Somehow, Mitsuba thought that it fell upon her to make up for the shortcomings of her brother. Right now, she was walking alongside her model and friend, as they were planning to de-stress by going to a karaoke place.

"Kagura-chan, I'm so sorry."

This startled the girl, as she stopped walking. "Huh? What for?"

"Well, Sougo hasn't been… treating you nicely—"

"It's fine. I may not look like it but… I don't _usually_ let him treat me like that." She scratched the back of her head. "To be honest, I was holding back on the insult 'cause you were there… and I knew you could handle him."

Mitsuba shook her head. "I… haven't been the best parental figure that he has… I may have spoiled him too much." She gave out a nervous chuckle. "I was more of a mother than a sister to him, and I love him too much to refuse his whims."

"You can only do so much, Mitsuba-san." The vermillion-haired girl shrugged. "It's up to him if he wants to change."

"I… guess you're right." The older woman said, mentally trying to think up of a way to make it up to the younger girl. Before she could even think, Kagura had grabbed her arm and began running.

"Come on, time's a wasting. We need to unwind!"

Twenty minutes later, Mitsuba found herself clapping along with the beat of the song as she watched Kagura sing a song on the stage of the karaoke room they've rented out. The girl wasn't the perfect singer, but she could carry a tune. Right after the song was done, she hopped down the mini-stage, and was about to hand over the microphone when the door swung open.

"Ah, I knew it was you!"

Both girls turned their heads toward the door to see a smiling Shimura Otae waving at them. "Knew it was you, Kagura-chan. It's that song again from that girl group you love so much."

"_Anego_!" she squealed at the sight of her older sister figure, but not before twitching when she saw the Disciplinary Committee trio who were trailing behind her. "Errrr… they're still following you around?"

"They had to, 'cause _someone_ ruined everything." At this, she pointed at the three boys who had at least ten shopping bags in each arm. "Mind if we join you?"

"Mitsuba-san, can they join us?" she turned to look at the sandy-haired woman, but was surprised at the sight of her in shock, her delicate hands cover her mouth, while her eyes had widened in shock.

Blinking, Kagura turned to see who her gaze was aimed at, and unexpectedly, Hijikata had a similar reaction as well, minus the jaw dropping. Behind him, Kondo looked very uncomfortable, while the male Okita was glaring at the back of Hijikata's head.

'_Oh no. Did I just… invite trouble over?'_

* * *

Notes:

[1] - an _otome_ game wherein one of the guys there sounded _exactly_ like him - Referencing Uta no Prince-sama wherein a guy named Hijirikawa Masato is voiced by (you guessed it), Suzumura Kenichi. He sounds _exactly _like Okita, though more gentle and more_ obocchama_-like_._

[2] - Babe, The Stars Twinkle Beautifully - obvious parody of a very popular Japanese clothing store.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own Gintama. It belongs to Sorachi Hideaki.

* * *

The Sweetest Lie

* * *

_Chapter 5_

* * *

_This one-way red string of fate_

_I'll tie it to you again today_

* * *

Kagura was at a loss right now on what to do.

The karaoke room they have rented out was filled with so much tension that she wanted to just run out. She knew that everything turned out awkward when _anego_ and the three guys entered the scene, because the mayo-freak was staring at the ground and Mitsuba was doing the same. Okita, on the other hand, was glaring at Hijikata. Otae was unusually quiet and not bickering with Kondo Isao, who looked quite nervous.

Whatever it was, she knew nothing, but that didn't mean they could go sulking.

Didn't they all go here to unwind?!

Immediately, she grabbed the microphone, input the number of the song she'd been itching to sing and started singing. The effect of her singing was just as instantaneous: everyone started looking at her.

"… Why are singing _that_ song [1], Kagura-chan?" Otae's tone was polite, though it was obvious that her statement actually mean, "What the hell were you thinking?!"

"It's got a nice tune." She said in-between her singing.

The female Shimura didn't have the heart to tell the foreign exchange student that the song had so much sexual undertones that even the first line that she sang that may have sounded normal to a foreigner would sound very sensual to a native speaker.

Immediately, Okita Sougo stood up and grabbed the microphone from the girl, who gave out an angry, "HEY!"

"Shut up, China. Your singing irritates me." He said in his deadpan voice.

"If you hate it so much, then don't listen! You can leave, you know." She informed him angrily, glaring at the same time.

"Okita-kun~ you promised to do something for me when we see Kagura-chan again~" came the singsong voice of Shimura, though under her happy tone signaled a rather violent threat. "Have you done it already?"

"Tch." Placing down the microphone on the table beside him, he grabbed the vermillion-haired girl's wrist and dragged her outside, ignoring her cries of protest. Okita Mitsuba was about to stand up from the couch when a hand stopped her from doing so.

"T-Toushirou…" she mumbled, her eyes downcast, refusing to look at him.

"Let them be. He has to say something to her." The mayonnaise lover mumbled something about 'can't go home if he doesn't say it' which she had slightly caught on, but had no idea what he meant by such.

"O-okay." Turning to the other female in the room, who was sitting two places away from her, she reached out her hand, elbowing Hijikata's thigh in the process, who was gritting his teeth from the pain. "H-hello, I'm Okita Mitsuba. Nice to meet you."

"Shimura Otae." The brown-haired woman smiled and shook her hand. "Please call me 'Otae'. You know Kagura-chan?"

"Yes. She's a customer of the store I work for."

"… Mitsuba. Your elbow…" he muttered.

"O-oh! S-sorry!" immediately, the sandy-haired woman stood up and walked over to the intercom. "I-I'll order us some drinks! Y-you guys want anything?! I-I know, I'll order for Sou-chan as well!"

"I'll have soda. Lots and lots of soda!" Otae said, grinning happily.

"If that's what Otae-san want, I want soda too!" called out Kondo.

Mitsuba looked at the other male in the room. "And… you?" when he shook his head, she sighed. "I-I see." With that, she pressed the intercom and ordered their beverages.

* * *

Okita Sougo was dragging her towards the long hallway along the room they had rented out.

Frankly, she had no idea why he was dragging her to a secluded place, but if he tried anything funny—

He stopped, and almost immediately, he shoved her against the corner of the wall, glaring at her with his blood red irises filled with resentment and anger. "Contrary to what _nee-san_ thinks, I am _not_ going to apologize for what happened earlier."

She crossed her arms. "Never expected you to do it anyway." She replied back, knowing that his pride knew no heights.

"Good, at least we're clear on that." He said in a hostile tone. "Next question: how did you get to know my sister?"

"I was out shopping, then I met her—"

"Oh really now? You had no idea who she was before you met her?" suspicion was evident in his tone.

"Use your brain, you brat. If I did, I would've started sucking up on you and begging you to help me meet her." She rolled her azure blue eyes. "That didn't happen, 'cause we're too busy hating each other's guts." Just when she was done with her piece, he was looking at her strangely. "What? Did I say something funny?"

"… Nevermind." He shook his head. "Anyway, China, stay away from my sister."

"WHAT?! NO!" there was no way in hell she would allow this to happen! Mitsuba had been a great friend, and no jerk was going to force her to sever her ties with a woman she admired greatly alongside _anego_. "Who the hell are you to tell me whom I should be friends with?!"

"Obviously, China, I'm her brother. Stay away from my sister."

"Get over yourself." She hissed at him. "Your sister can choose whom she can be friends with."

He gripped her right arm tightly. "You listen here, China—" ignoring her wince, he bent over to glare at her, his face a mere inch away from her. Kagura tried hard not to notice the nearness, and had fought down the blush that threatened to creep up her cheeks. "Stay away from her. She doesn't need the likes of you—"

"How would _you_ know?! Unless she tells me to fuck off, go mind your own business!" she shot back, placing her palm over the back of his hand. "And don't touch me so casually! Let go!"

"Oi, oi, you kids sure are noisy. Having a lovers' quarrel?"

The familiar tone made Okita look back, and to his surprise, the person who had said the remark was none other than his homeroom teacher, Sakata Ginpachi…

… who also happened to be China's housemate.

"Gin-chan!" she pushed her classmate aside to give her father figure a rather tight hug. "What are you doing here?!"

Ginpachi doesn't answer immediately, though his usual dead fish eyes are now glaring at the sandy-haired younger male, who is also glaring back. "—I thought we agreed on the 'no boys' rule? Wasn't it supposed to be only you and Shimura?"

"Not my fault. Stalker gorilla and his two followers suddenly ruined girls' day out!" she said, sending a glare at Sougo. "And don't glare at me like that, you jerk!"

Her naturally-permed housemate sighed. "… If Baldy finds out about this—"

"He can scream at me for all I care." The tone in her voice was filled with sarcasm.

"Okay, okay, calm down, I can feel your anger meter rising." He patted the vermillion-haired girl on the head. "Why are you here anyway?"

"Was singing my heart out with a friend… then _anego_ and them found me." At his suspicious look, she shook her head. "Can I explain later…?"

"As long as you don't send Gin-san to the hospital with all those dirty high school girl activities you do—" a punch in the arm had sent him down on his knees. "OWW!"

"The hell are you saying?!" she said.

"I'm just joking!" he whined, rubbing the sore spot. "Anyway, what time you going home?"

She looked at her wrist watch. "Around… ten? Or maybe we can go home together?" she asked. "I… forgot my keys at home."

"… Fine. Just send me an email when you're ready to leave." Ginpachi nodded. "See you later."

"Byeeee!" giving him one final hug, she let go of him and watched as he walked back to the karaoke room that he and his fellow colleagues were staying at. No doubt, old lady Otose, Tsukuyo-sensei, Sakamoto-sensei and old Matsudaira were there, noting the fact that the room looked too hazy, and that Gin-chan smelled of cigarette smoke.

"Well, isn't that sweet?" came the familiar taunting tone from behind her, interrupting her thoughts.

She nearly forgot that he was still there, still glaring at her. "The hell do you mean by that?" she looked back at him.

"Nothing, China." He shrugged nonchalantly. "As to what we've been talking about before Ginpachi interrupted—"

"I refuse. Micchan is my friend, and you're an asshole if you think you speak for her." With that, she began to walk back to their karaoke room, only to be yanked by him again as he grabbed her hand and pulled him. "W-what now?!" she yelled out, panicking at the fact that he was holding her hand.

"… Just so you know, I dislike you a lot, China."

_Ouch_. "W-well, s-same to you!" she screamed at him before slapping his hand away and marching back to the rented karaoke room.

* * *

The girls all ended up becoming too hyper for their own good.

After the free-flowing drinks that contained way too much sugar, Kagura, along with Shimura Otae and Okita Mitsuba, ended up singing and dancing in the mini stage of the karaoke room they had rented. Despite the fact that Okita Sougo was scowling at her, or that the gorilla had bordered on creepy (Hijikata, as usual, had looked uninterested, but his eyes were solely focused on Mitsuba), Kagura had fun. Sure, she hit the wrong notes at times, and would probably render herself unable to speak tomorrow because of the sugar, the singing, and the screaming, but she had never been so happy in her life.

Hell, the happiest she had been was when she first met Sakata Ginpachi.

Even if the guy she likes revealed his dislike for her, to hell with him.

She could deal with that… probably tomorrow. Or some other day.

For now, she just wanted to drown herself in this euphoria.

Right after they had paid the bill, the door of the rented room opened and in went her housemate. "Oi, Kagura. Ready to leave?"

"Yep!" immediately, she stood up from the couch and walked over to where he was. "Can we stop by the convenience store? I want ice cream."

"No." he said quickly.

"Please…!" she gave him the most adorable puppy eyes she could muster. "I'll be quiet the whole day tomorrow, promise!" at his skeptical look, Kagura said, "That's 'cause I'll probably lose my voice tomorrow so—"

"Deal, let's go." at her jubilant scream, he sighed, knowing that she would probably demand two to three boxes of whatever-the-hell-it-was-that-she-wanted.

"Wait, I wanna say goodbye first." She rushed back to give Shimura a hug, as well as the girl who looked eerily like his brown-haired male student. Ginpachi deduced that Souichirou and her were related, for Souichirou glared at his daughter as if she had committed a mortal sin against him. When she ignored the male Okita, he then focused his glaring at his direction, which made the teacher mentally wonder as to what he had done as well to make his student _this angry_. Setting that aside for the meantime, he watched as she gave a surprised Kondo Isao a hug, as well as Oogushi-kun, but the moment she noticed that Souichirou was looking at her, she looked away and made her way back to him.

"Gin-chan, let's go!"

"Right." Still feeling the angry gaze behind his back, he waved his students goodbye before exiting the room with Kagura. As soon as they were out of their sight, the younger girl let out a sigh.

"Feelin' okay?" he asked.

"… I guess." She sighed. "Or… maybe not."

"Bah. For now, get whatever-the-hell-that-is out of your mind. Tackle on it tomorrow or something." At her nod, he gave himself a pat on the back for being able to at least comfort her.

"Forgot to tell you this morning. It's been approved." He said in usual bored tone, though Kagura's reaction was of shock. "And before you say I'm shitting you, I'm not— oof!" he nearly got the wind knocked out of him as Kagura nearly tackled him to the ground with her bear hug. "Kagura, calm down—"

"D-does that mean… I don't ever have to see Baldy again!?"

"Well, depends on you but—" before he could even say anything, she started squealing and tightening her hug around his waist. "KAGURA! CALM DOWN—"

"This is the best day ever!" she yells out, ignoring the way the passersby were staring at her. "Oh Gin-chan, thank you, thank you—"

He did not have the heart to tell her to shut up when he saw genuine happiness reflected in her eyes. His student may have deceived everyone with her cheerful façade, but not him. He knew her since she was little, he knew everything about her past, hell, he even knew what she went through and—

Despite that, he was proud of her for being strong.

"… Don't mention it, brat."

* * *

Sunday, as she had expected, had passed by like a blur. Her throat had hurt, as she had anticipated, and she was unable to speak. Ginpachi had told her that it was better that way, earning yet another punch in the arm. With some warm tea, she had been able to recover, though her throat was still sore, and she still sounded very much like a weary old lady. Despite that, however, she couldn't wait to get to school and see _anego_ to tell her about her new problem regarding Okita disliking her for being friends with his older sister. Just how absurd was that anyway?

Ginpachi had went on ahead of her, and so, she rode her bike to school. After chaining it in the shed near the vending machines, Kagura walked over to her classroom, and as soon as she had opened the sliding door to greet her classmates good morning, Sarutobi Ayame suddenly ambushes her, crying her heart out.

"Kagura, how could you…!"

The foreign girl suddenly is at a loss. "… Huh?"

The lavender-haired girl suddenly cries harder than ever. "You… you…! How could you!"

"How could I what?"

"I saw your name in the class list! Sakata Kagura…!" Sacchan bawls further.

"… And what's wrong with that…? It just happened last Saturday and—"

"JUST THIS SATURDAY?!" this time, it was Shimura Otae who stood up to walk over to her. "Oh my…!"

"Why the hell are you all staring at me?!" she demanded, making her way to her seat, and placing her back on the side of her desk. "You look at me as if I murdered someone!"

"W-we're in shock, okay!" Catherine responded back defensively. " 'C-cause you married Sakata-aho!"

"… Married…?" she frowned.

"Yes! You're Sakata Kagura now, right?!" Hammy squealed. "How did it happen?! And you sound so hoarse too!"

She scratched the back of her head. "Uh, paperwork? We've planned it for some time already and—" at this, Sacchan screamed louder than ever. "I'm seriously confused. Why are you all staring at me like that?!"

" 'Cause everyone here knows that you married Ginpachi, China." Came the bored tone of Okita Sougo, who was seated beside her. "And the whole school is talking about it."

Suddenly, everything made so much sense.

"… Married… to Gin-chan…?"

This was not some shoujo manga wherein the plot line had a student and her male teacher having a secret marriage of sorts for whatever reason [2]. She and Gin-chan were more of a parent and child duo, and she shuddered just imagining herself married to the man who was her father figure in life. "That's just disgusting." She wrinkled her nose. "I'll have you know that my last name turned into Sakata 'cause the papers have been finalized. And—" she then looked at Sarutobi. "—it isn't because I married him. The adoption has been finalized, and I'm his daughter now."

Everyone became silent all of a sudden… and then…

"Oh my god, you were his daughter all along?!" came the idiotic comment of Mone, the shrine maiden-wannabe.

"So you're now Japanese?! We can't call you China anymore?!" Yamazaki Sagaru yelled out.

"Oi, oi, what's the commotion all about, you brats?"

In came the man in question, and immediately, Sarutobi Ayame leaps to try and hug him, only to crash on the blackboard. "… And why is everyone staring at me?"

"Sir! Is it true that you adopted China-san?!" Kondo Isao in a rather loud voice.

"… And why is that so surprising?" he wanted to know.

" 'Cause that was very unexpected, sir!" he replied back.

"Heck, at least we didn't go for the _shoujo manga_ route and got secretly married." Immediately after he said this, he felt a rather intense glare aimed at him, and quickly, he added, "Kidding aside, Kagura's my kid now, so be nice to her."

The class hollered back their responses, all of it positive, and he nodded. "Good. Now that's settled, time for homeroom." His students made their way to their seats to listen to him. "The principal has requested me to do something for this year's cultural festival and…"

Everyone in the class looked up at him curiously.

"… We've gotta do a school play. About Snow White."

* * *

Notes:

[1] – The song I had in mind for this portion is Gackt's Vanilla. Lyrics borders to R-18, and it's actually a male song, so Kagura singing it made people raise their eyebrows.

[2] - No idea why Japan loves this plot line for shoujo manga. It... kinda creeps me out, to be honest.

I've been toying with the idea of the adoption route, but seeing that the real life process is very implausible, I took the liberty of using my artistic license for it to happen, so please take note of that.

Also, it's difficult to write a fic wherein the character does not have a last name. As of now, Kagura does not have an official last name, nor Kamui ('Yato' is the name of their clan/tribe, hence 'Yato-zoku', which literally means 'Yato tribe'), so I tried becoming creative by giving her a last name.

Anyway, feel free to tell me what you think of this chapter by dropping me a review! Thank you once again for reading!


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